Funding will fight foreclosures

Federal help to focus on 51 Ohio counties' troubled homeowners

Thursday, August 5, 2010  02:55 AM

By Jim Weiker

 

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Thousands of Ohioans could stave off foreclosure with the help of $172 million in federal funds earmarked for the state yesterday.

 

The funds are meant to help troubled homeowners, including those who have lost their jobs, pay mortgages while they try to get back on their feet, and to get troubled homeowners out of homes they can't afford.

 

"This is probably the most significant step taken to date to address the foreclosure crisis in our state, but it's not the be-all and end-all answer," said Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness & Housing in Ohio.

 

Full story at: http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/08/05/copy/funding-will-fight-foreclosures.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

I can't believe the government.  It's like people didn't know what they where doing when they signed on for the loan.  The only thing the government has ever done for me is try and lock me in a cage.  I wouldn't ask them for a damn thing.  This is not a free market.  It's a freakin welfare state.  What is so bad about it is they try and hide it.  And the only people who have to pay for it are those who get a foot up in life.  All these people acting like if you make 250k a year you are rich.  If i ever got caked up I think i will be moving to another country. 

Ohio awarded an additional $250 million from the federal Hardest Hit Fund to avert foreclosures

Published: Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 5:33 PM   

The Plain Dealer

 

 

Ohio is getting an additional $250 million from the federal Hardest Hit Fund for a foreclosure-prevention program that launched this week and already has 2,700 applicants.

 

The Treasury Department said Wednesday the dollars will go to expand Ohio's Restoring Stability program, which aims to help the jobless and other struggling homeowners pay their mortgages.

 

The state program was previously awarded $320 million and had expected to help 26,000 homeowners.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/09/ohio_awarded_an_additional_250.html

 

 

Looks like Ohio metros didn't do too bad with foreclosures last year:

 

http://www.realtytrac.com/content/press-releases/2010-year-end-us-metro-foreclosure-report-6317

...except for Dayton:

 

Area Foreclosure Rate Ranks High in Nation

 

DAYTON — One in every 43 homes in the Dayton area faced some sort of foreclosure action last year, placing the area in the top third of 206 U.S. metro areas for that activity, a California firm that tracks foreclosures said in a report released today.

 

RealtyTrac Inc. of Irvine, Calif., said 8,917 properties in Greene, Miami, Montgomery and Preble counties received default notices, auction notices or were taken back by lenders last year, up 12.7 percent from 2009. The area ranked 62nd in the nation among 206 metro areas with populations of 200,000 or more, RealtyTrac said

 

....the article goes on to quote a RealtyTrac guy saying that the current high rates are more due to the economy, due to the effects of long-term unemployment, vs the "housing crisis" foreclosure thing in overheated markets.

 

But, as you all know, Dayton got hit hard by the economic crisis, actually the ongoing decline in manufacturing since 2000, as well as being a big victim of subprime mortgages going bad, yet we didn't have an overheated "housing bubble market" here.

 

 

 

National spotlight on Cleveland post-foreclosure aftermath/clean-up:

 

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec11/makingsense_07-05.html

 

 

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=dw5t7tbab&v=001PcleU6K0CjjRfVxMuv8wmFWIXcSIz4Oj6cj6B5mOG884AFK0G8ftd__K342K_ereMQkMhosTmk4Jw5Jl7QpZCqQLxQxC6HsyQDr_Tvv07iQkL7Wu15VESw%3D%3D

 

News From

Cleveland Action to Support Housing

 

CASH Launches New Program to Fix Up and Sell Bank-Owned Homes to New Owners

 

 

The two bedroom fixer-upper on W. 122nd Street doesn't look like much yet - the lawn is unkempt, the porch cries out for fresh paint and the front door is boarded up. Yet a closer inspection reveals a bevy of hidden charms, including leaded glass windows, oak floors and built-in cabinets.

 

Now, thanks to a new initiative that has been launched by the nonprofit Cleveland Action to Support Housing (CASH), this bank-owned home in Cleveland will go from being an eyesore - and a symbol of the national foreclosure crisis - to something the neighbors can be proud of. 

 

"Through fixing up and reselling foreclosed homes to new homeowners using stimulus funds, we're making a critical investment in Cleveland's neighborhoods," says Marcia Nolan, Executive Director of CASH, a nonprofit organization with a thirty-year history of revitalizing neighborhoods through rehabilitation lending. "This is a targeted response to the foreclosure crisis, which has created an oversupply of vacant homes, depressing values and discouraging investment."

 

Initially, CASH's foreclosure-rehab initiative will fix up two homes in west side neighborhoods. The pilot homes are located in Westtown (near West Park) and Tremont, two stable communities where focused improvements can be used to leverage additional investment. CASH selected these homes to be rehabbed because of the strategic impact it would make on the entire neighborhood.

 

CASH will acquire and fix up the homes using stimulus funds awarded to the city through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). Once the homes are refurbished, they'll be sold to qualified buyers. Purchasers must earn less than 120 percent of Northeast Ohio's annual median income to be eligible (approximately $25,000-32,000 for an individual). The rehabbed home at 3455 West 122nd St. will be priced at $70,000, making it affordable to a range of buyers. 

 

The Cuyahoga County Land Bank, a nonprofit that acquires foreclosed homes from lenders, has donated the homes to CASH. If successful, the group plans to expand the program next year, with the goal of rehabbing additional homes in several Cleveland neighborhoods.

 

These properties will be unveiled as affordable, green homes when the work is complete in a few months. Improvements slated for 3455 W. 122nd include new siding, windows, garage, mechanicals, kitchens and bathrooms. Refinished wood floors and a master bedroom with his-and-hers closets are also part of re-do. The front porch will also finally get the scrape-and paint job it deserves. 

 

"This house will be inexpensive to maintain, because it will be rehabbed to energy-efficient standards," says Terry May, Construction Lending Specialist with CASH. "We're adding green features such as a high-efficiency furnace and insulation that will raise its R value to R-38."

 

 

The foreclosed property in Tremont, a traditional, front porch Colonial at 2499 West 7th Street, will be renovated into a two bedroom, two and a half bath contemporary home with a functional, efficient floor plan, a master bedroom with adjoining luxury bath, and a sleek, modern kitchen.

 

The Westtown home is located adjacent to Variety Village, an area of Lorain Ave. where focused investment, including renovation of the historic Variety Theatre into a multi-use venue for movies, plays and special events, is being led by Westtown Community Development Corporation. The Tremont home is located adjacent to the new, mixed-income Tremont Pointe development and a host of neighborhood amenities, including Lincoln Park and Steelyard Commons.

 

Both homes are now available for sale, and buyers that purchase before they're completed have the chance to customize their finishes. Interested parties should contact Progressive Urban Real Estate.

For more information, please contact:

 

Marcia Nolan, Executive Director

Cleveland Action to Support Housing (CASH)               

4001 Detroit Ave.

Cleveland OH 44113                           

216/621-7350

[email protected]

 

CASH's current home repair interest rate is 2.3%, a great rate that can help  you save thousands of dollars on your next rehab project.

I would buy a bunch of those and glam them up!

Cross-posted from the Cleveland demolitions thread.....

 

Bank of America is now paying to tear down foreclosed homes

BY TIM DE CHANT

1 AUG 2011 2:17 PM

 

Bank of America has a new approach to dealing with foreclosed homes: Tear them down.

 

With a record number of American's facing foreclosure, that might make your blood boil at first. But if you look into the plan a bit closer, there might be something to it. These homes are the worst that Bank of American has on its hands. The company has selected a relative handful of its most decrepit, derelict homes in Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago and will pay up to $7,500 to local agencies toward demolition costs. That's more than many of them are worth.

 

Bank of America isn't the first mortgage holder to sacrifice its worst properties to a one-ton ball of steel, but it is the first to put some money towards demolition. Citigroup began donating foreclosed homes to housing agencies and nonprofits back in 2008. Fannie Mae started a similar program in 2009. Both have had help from the National Community Stabilization Trust, a nonprofit which works with lenders to get foreclosed homes into the hands of housing organizations. The group has been sucking up as many properties as it can.

 

The 100 homes Bank of America is demolishing in Cleveland are just a drop in the bucket. One report estimates there may be as many as 13,000 abandoned properties in the region, and that it would cost $250 million to remove them all. Another says Chicago has at least 5,000 that are beyond hope for rehabilitation.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.grist.org/cities/2011-08-01-bank-of-america-is-now-paying-to-tear-down-foreclosed-homes

How Cleveland, Ohio is overcoming it’s six year economic crisis

 

Kathleen Cosner | 2011/12/24  | 12 Comments

 

 

What really wasn’t mentioned are the things going on to potentially fix the whole mess and maybe make the situation better. Cleveland specifically has busted, prosecuted, and put away hundreds of individuals involved in mortgage fraud. Yes. We do this here. Mayor Jackson also attempted to go after banks for predatory lending- he failed, but it was a meaningful attempt. City Council is in the process of passing legislation to hold owners accountable for demolition costs, as well as making it a crime for out-of-state companies to buy houses in bulk and skip registering with the state.

 

The Cuyahoga County Land Bank offers quite a few possibilities, for example, they purchase blight properties and can demolish, rehab, or resell them. The Land Bank is also going to be offering homes to refugees, according to The Plain Dealer. Also, Reclaimed Cleveland is a furnishing shop who will upcycle and repurpose items left in a home set to be demolished. They have beds, tables, chairs, accessories, as well as custom work. How about that?

 

Not many preventative measures were in place to stop the foreclosure crisis from happening, but in Cleveland, we are working hard to correct the problem. The Mistake by the Lake? Hardly. The North Coast is so much more awesome.

 

http://agbeat.com/real-estate-news-events/how-cleveland-ohio-is-overcoming-their-six-year-economic-crisis/

Very interesting data for Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Lucas, Mahoning, Montgomery, Stark and Summit counties, plus four counties in KY and PA!

 

http://www.clevelandfed.org/Community_Development/publications/CSI/maps.cfm

Yes, thanks! 

 

Looking at the delinquency maps for the Dayton area interesting to see increasing delinquency in suburban Kettering and Huber Heights, which might portend things to come?

 

And the decline in housing prices is pretty interesting...how across the board this is.

I think many are already "destroyed".....

 

Cleveland's plan to destroy nearly 6,000 homes

By Les Christie  @CNNMoney November 13, 2014: 6:00 PM ET

 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

In and around Cleveland, nearly 6,000 foreclosed and abandoned homes are being destroyed in an effort to save neighborhoods from blight, crime and sinking home prices.

 

Instead of trying to rebuild on these properties, however, the city has been turning the empty lots into parks, greenhouses, even vineyards.

 

"For the larger body -- the neighborhood -- to survive, you have to remove those cancer cells," said Frank Ford, a policy adviser for the nonprofit Thriving Communities Institute of Cleveland.

 

During the housing bust, Ford worked at a community redevelopment group that renovated 50 foreclosed homes in Cleveland for $180,000 each. They sold the rehabbed homes for about $90,000 apiece, taking a $90,000 hit on each.

 

MORE:

http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/13/real_estate/cleveland-destroying-homes/

Glad to see our state government is here for us...

 

Ohio chose not to ask for federal money for thousands of struggling homeowners. Why?

By Stephen Koff, cleveland.com

on June 02, 2016 at 6:00 AM, updated June 02, 2016 at 5:34 PM

 

WASHINGTON -- By pushing so hard for demolition money to tear down abandoned homes and fight neighborhood blight, Ohio lost a chance to help up to 15,000 struggling homeowners keep their houses, according to the state's own numbers.

 

The money was available from the federal government, and the state clearly documented that homeowners needed this cash assistance to keep from defaulting on their mortgages during temporary hardships. But at nearly the last minute, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency pushed more heavily to get federal money for a different priority: bulldozing foreclosed homes that had already fallen into disrepair. 

 

The choice cost Ohioans millions of lost dollars in federal aid, as cleveland.com reported. Now cleveland.com obtained public records -- extensive emails and 17 different versions of the application the state worked on -- showing Ohio knew it was leaving thousands of current homeowners behind. 

 

MORE:

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2016/06/ohio_chose_not_to_ask_for_fede.html#incart_river_home

I bought a short sale house today. Something new for the sellers (not the bank) of short sale houses is a $10,000 HAFA incentive for short selling your property rather than just walking away. This cuts down on the number of foreclosures and Sheriff's sales. That way the house doesn't sit empty for long periods of time subject to vandals, squatters and scrappers. It also incentivizes the seller to keep the house intact rather than trashing the place -- taking things like cabinets, garage door openers, range hoods and vanities with them out of spite, to sell them or put them in their new place.

 

While that means less money for flippers in some cases, it's better for pretty much everyone else. That way only the buyer gets a deal rather than everyone under the sun vampiring off of someone losing their house. And it makes it slightly less brutal for the party that lost their house... I suspect the seller's divorce in my case.